Your favorite classical composers/works?

Xiek, I also am a big fan of Debussy and eqally Ravel. I say equal, for it seems Debussy is the more popular of the 2. I posted a topic on Gramophone concerning "which ONE (not 2) composer do you feel in not-as-yet-recognized for his genius?" The topic was to point out how I felt the orchestral and piano music, not to mention his lone trio and sq , as the one composer that stands out to my mind as un-recognized. ie, seldom programed in concerts. Also classical forums can go on pages about Beethoven and Chopin's piano solo, hardly a word about Ravel. ...As I hear Ravel's solo piano, to my ears it is the pinnacle of the entire romantic movement. IOW Ravel achieves in perfect form all that went before him....Debussy was the first modern, with scertain passages in Wagner's 3 great operas as a fore-runner to Debussy. "death of classical in 50 yrs". No I believe there is a rival taking shape as we write. You do not see it unfolding as it is like all movements, underground. With the music of Schnittke and Pettersson will be the 2 great stars and among many past greats of the 20th century. The concert halls will be thin and the music a bit stale, but there is new life being born in a new generation....like myself.
Mozart will never be forgotten as his music has the fabric and spirit of eternity.
Muzcal, agree that the conductr is extremely important to the composer's genius.
I just posted a topic on friday, "conductors, and the trouble they create for composers works of genius"...Schnittke somewhere (I'm still looking for the passage) said that Stravinsky felt conductors should not attempt to take on a role as shaper of the score. Schnittke disagreed and felt conductors were equal in the creative process. The replies this morning should be of interest. For as I said in my post, most recordings can be trashed. Yet another controversial comment from me, but for the most part these guys on gramophone have shown much greater level ogf tolerance for my radical views than the grouches and trolls over at Good Music Guide.
Of my 500+ cd collection, all have been through a process of critical listening. More than 1000 were eithrer sold off, given away, or thankfully lost to Katrina, before which they did not sell on amazon.
Conductors are equal to composers. btw "big names" in conducting do not impress me. As each recording is judged accordingly.
Although I will say I tend to go with french orchs/conductors in french music, russian forces in russian music , etc. AS a general rule it seems to be the case for excellence.
Bryden Thomson/London SO is my choice in RVW's syms. Though Mitropoulos/4th and Stokowski/6th both with the New York take a place of excellence. Haitink/London PO is pretty good in Shostakovich , but feel no need to have a 3rd copy when there is Rozhdestvensky and Kondrashin around. This is some of the process involved in building my collection for the past 5 yrs. Thousands of hours were involved in seeking out which recordings were best to my ears.
I've finsihed my collection last month. I may buy one or 2 cds this yr, and so on.

Paul
Baton Rouge

Ajalar has made some raised some interesting ideas on several funtions of classical music to the individual. Shostakovich is the best exapmle of a composer fulfilling the role of a poet who speaks for the sufferings of a entire nation. Whereas prokofiev felt it necessary to ignore most of the great evil taking shape in his country and around the world, and instead gave us works of stunning melodies. Though of course he does touch on some of the evil surrounding him, 2nd sym specifically, opening movement. Schonberg gives us insight into the neurotic mind, a disease that would strike at the jews and the world in general. This is represented in his Pierrot Lunaire and others. Schonberg also reveals to us his profound spiritual understanding of a few events in the old testament, which lets us know of his ties to the kaballah.......2 composers that stike me as being of supreme importance for modern man and the great dilema he finds himself in, all the mysterious evils cropping up daily,, are Allan Pettersson, 1911-1980 and Alfred Schnittke, 1934-1998. ...Which is why i really have no interest in the classicists and romantics, with Mozart and 3 operas from Wagner being the exceptions in the era 1791-1875(Debussy) Even 20th century composers like Sibelius syms 2-7 and all of Stravinsky I find to be a form of entertainment but not dealing with the greater issues facing the individual. Classical music should help the individual in dealing with his current world otherwise its just a simple form of entertainment, like Chopin, Tchaikovsky and hundreds like them.

For all you R&R/blues/jazz fans looking to get a toe into classical and have been turned off by the popular romantic composers, none of which i am a fan of, except for 3 of Wagner's operas, ck out Pettersson/1911-1980 and Schnittke/1934-1998. Just try one work from each, Pettersson sym 7/BIS, and Schnittke concerto grosso 4/sym 5(the work is both a concerto grosso and a sym)/BIS.
I hope to see some postings next week from at least 3 or 4 of you guys.